Endoscopic surgery within the head is a common procedure in neurological surgery and otolaryngology. Advantages to endoscopic surgery of the head include avoiding large cranial incisions and brain retraction. Endoscopic, surgery of the head can provide the surgeon with a better view because the camera of the endoscope is brought directly to the surgical site.
During this type of surgery using a trans-orbital approach, there tends to be some local trauma to the orbital and peri-orbital tissue. This surgical pathway trauma can add to the trauma of the procedure and prolong the patient's recovery time. In addition, there is frequent and persistent “run down” of blood and soiled irrigation fluid that obscures the view of the endoscope. This leads to the constant need for irrigation and suction of these liquids, as well as removal, cleaning and replacement of the endoscope. This can occur many times during a single procedure, making the cleaning and clearing of the endoscope time consuming.
Accessing the surgical site through any route, but especially through the trans-orbital route, may require the surgeon to travel around or through internal tissue structures within the head, often using multiple instruments. When an instrument needs to be substituted, or an endoscope needs to be cleaned, the surrounding tissues are again put at risk as the instruments are removed and reinserted.
Therefore, there is a need to reduce or eliminate these problems encountered in endoscopic trans-orbital surgery.